Multi-Product CONWIP System Performance Analysis: Modeling and Analysis

The increasingly competitive and volatile market requires an adequate production management system to develop customized and unique products quickly and at the lowest possible cost to meet customer needs. The main aim of this chapter is to design a simulation model for studying the behavior patterns of selected performance measures, including mean cycle time, throughput, and mean utilization at different CONWIP levels. The closed queuing network (CQN) mathematical framework is employed to design the simulation model, which is further solved by the mean value analysis (MVA) algorithm. Additionally, the proposed model is simulated using ARENA simulation software to find the adequacy of the results obtained from the algorithm. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the performance of the CONWIP-based manufacturing system for various inputs to select the best alternative and determine which one provides the best solution.